College athletes are facing “significant abuse” amid a surge in harassment unleashed by America’s gambling boom, according to US sports officials who say students are increasingly subject to death threats, harassment and demands for money.
A handful of state regulators have moved to ban legal gambling platforms from offering certain types of bets on collegiate sports as a result of the “inherently problematic” surge in harassment of college athletes online, at venues and in dorms.
But some of the gambling sector’s biggest players have lobbied against these moves, according to documents seen by the Guardian – claiming such restrictions pose a “far more significant” risk.
